Hurstpierpoint

Claire Richard

CULTIVATION OF SUCCULENTS: there is a free talk on Saturday 5th August from 2pm to 5pm by Dr Terry Smale at the Village Centre, organised by the Brighton & Hove branch of the British Cactus & Succulent Society. The speaker is Vice-chair of the RHS Tender Ornamental Plant Committee and has grown succulents and bulbous plants - especially ones from South Africa - for more than 50 years. He is a member of the BCSS journals and Research Committee and is a seasoned lecturer and writer of numerous articles, including descriptions of four new succulent species. There will be free refreshments, as well as plants and seeds for sale. Plus find out more about the BCSS and the benefits of membership. For more information contact David on 01273 835284.

STORIES OF HOLY TRINITY UPDATE: These have run monthly since January and following Art and Writing Workshops in July, there will be a break in August. This will be particularly well-earned by Ian Nelson and John Norris. Their talks on the church windows and monuments have been very informative about families such as the Campions and Borrers, who had such an impact on church and village life in the nineteenth century, and about the decisions which led to particular windows and monuments being added to the church. In September, Ian and John will return to revisit their first talk as part of the Hurstpierpoint Festival and this will be advertised as part of Festival publicity.

HURST MUSEUM GROUP: has a new display in the foyer of the Village Centre, marking 300 years of cricket playing in the village. Some of you may have gone to the event at Danny, which celebrated this, and the display coincides nicely. Thomas Marchant who lived at Little Park in the eighteenth century, wrote diaries recording the life of the village, and he noted various cricket matches between Hurst and the surrounding towns and villages, the earliest being in 1717 at Danny. Rules had been drawn up based on those used by the Duke of Richmond’s team in 1726. The display includes a copy of these rules, an old style bat and interesting historical items from the Hurstpierpoint Cricket Club and the Sussex County Cricket Club. It runs until the end of August.

PARISH COUNCILLOR SURGERY: There will be another Parish Councillor Surgery on Saturday 12 August from 10:00 am - 12 noon, in the Conference Room, Village Centre, Trinity Road, Hurstpierpoint. Would you like to have a chat with a Parish Councillor about any issue or idea that you have? The Parish Council are holding monthly Surgeries in Hurstpierpoint and Sayers Common where 2 Councillors will be available. All Parish Council and Committee meetings are open to the public and everyone is very welcome to attend. This initiative is being trialled for a year, for those people who might find it easier to chat in this informal manner.

WELCOME: to new shops in the High Street, Raven in the small premises that have been vacant a while that were Trug and nextdoor to them The Closet.

DOCTOR APPOINTMENTS: I read in the newspapers that a wait of 3 weeks to see the doctor is now common. This makes life difficult for those who really need to. May be it is the state of the NHS today, but it is seriously aggravated by patients not bothering to go to their booked appointments. Popping into the Health Centre recently I read the display of these missed time slots as 40 for the doctors and 42 for the nurses, and that amazingly in just one week alone. This equates it said to being able to provide for 6.5 emergency cases for doctors and 11 for the nurses. But what this means by applying this to the whole year, in terms of effectively having extra doctor availability, at Hurst particularly, and the whole country, makes one think, and if ever you wanted to see the doctor urgently, and had to wait, you now know why. A simple call to cancel is all it takes, who does not have their mobile with them if there was a problem, or simply to phone and say it was no longer needed? Efficient use of and respect for the professionals makes the resources go further, or how long before the NHS gets wise and does like my dentist, and charge?

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